THE keeping of bees has been and is being practiced by men and women in all walks of life, whether located in city, suburb, on small farm or large acreage. The beginning may be made in a small way at a minimum of expense and with possibilities of early gain.

When To Begin

Whether starting with a fully established colony or with new equipment and package bees, the best time is early in spring, usually about fruit bloom time. Thus, the package is able for the most part to maintain itself from the start and gradually build up to a full colony, sometimes before the major honeyflow is too far advanced. While one need not be disappointed if the colony only succeeds in fully establishing itself the first season, yet the honeyflows may be so propitious as to give a harvest of fifty pounds, or even more, of honey with a good strong colony for winter quarters.

Where To Begin

As previously explained, bees may be kept in almost any place that flowers bloom, the number of colonies to be kept in one location or locality depending upon the amount of flora available and the nectar producing possibilities of the flowers.

One should bear in mind in the selection of a location that bees do have stings, and while stings offer little impediment to keeping bees, yet the neighbor's rights should not be infringed upon. Select a location for your colony or colonies, therefore, so that the line of flight of the bees will not interfere with passers-by or with the neighbor's garden or yard activities. If the colony can be so placed that the bees will immediately fly upward through the openings in trees or shrubs, all the better. Thousands of colonies are kept on porch roofs or in suburban back yards very successfully. Raise the beehive from the ground a few inches on blocks to avoid dampness and if there is a good windbreak on the north and west in the form of a fence or shrubbery, take advantage of it. Usually hives are faced with entrances away from the prevailing winds. A south or east exposure is good.

How To Begin

The beginner may get his start by purchasing a full colony of bees, preferably in spring, from a neighboring beekeeper, adding such handling material as desired. However, one always runs the risk of failure of an old queen, or of bee diseases (explained in Chapter 14).

Some beginners may be located where box hives or log gums are available for a nominal sum, but again the vigor of the stock may be under par, disease may be present, and the necessity of transfer of the bees and combs to new movable frame hives presents considerable difficulty for the beginning beekeeper. However, in Chapter 11, we give suggestions which will aid in transferring bees to modern hives.

The best way to begin is to purchase a package of bees with a young laying queen. These can be obtained from nearly all bee supply houses which also will have new hives, equipped with frames, and bee comb foundation, as well as other necessary material such as bee veils, hive tools, bee smokers, and bee books and magazines.

Preferably start with two or three colonies rather than one. With a single colony, though the chances of failure are rare, yet the beginner may be discouraged in such instances whereas the second colony might make a bounteous harvest, to equalize the rare loss.

There are available bees of several races, the most prominent of which are the Italian, the Carniolan, and the Caucasian. The Italian race has been most generally accepted as standard in America and should be your beginning choice. Later, other races may be tried if desired.

Line breeding and hybrid crosses are rapidly being developed in bee raising. Thus, such good attributes as gentleness, high honey gathering qualities, color, disease resistance, etc. are combined into strains of bees of superior quality.

Instructions on preparation of equipment and on receiving, installing and caring for your package of bees will be outlined in Chapter 5.

It is best in advance of this, however, for the beginner to acquaint himself with various types of hives, supers, and other bee equipment (Chapter 3); as well as with the inner working of the colony itself, its various members, their structure and their duties as outlined in Chapter 4.

The beginner's outfit should include:

Modern beehive with frames

Bee comb foundation for these frames

3-lb. package of bees with queen

Bee smoker

Bee veil

Hive tool

1/4-lb. spool of wire to hold foundation in frames Bee gloves Bee magazine

Later, when the bees start making more honey than is needed for their own requirements, storage room will be necessary. This is provided by either comb honey supers with section boxes and thin surplus foundation or frame supers with either thin foundation for cut comb honey or heavier weight foundation for extracting.